Jack Hughes's first goal of the season ends their home opener with a win and a throwback celebration

The New Jersey Devils are coming into the season with a new feeling of hope. For so many years under Tom Fitzgerald, something felt off. We had hope because Jack Hughes is a superstar, Nico Hischier is a top-15 center, and there are talented players up and down the lineup, but the vibes were off.

The vibes are not off to start the season this year. Sunny Mehta has taken over, and he revamped this roster and the salary cap. He made additions like Luke Evangelista, Anthony Mantha, Evan Rodrigues, and Amadeus Lombardi. He got rid of issues like Jacob Markstrom’s contract and Simon Nemec’s playing time. 

This era of Devils hockey is going to be a good one if we’re looking at the first game. The Devils were all over the Philadelphia Flyers in their home opener. That broke the 30-shot mark by the second intermission, and they finished with 44 shots. Flyers goalie Joseph Woll was stellar, keeping the Devils to just two regulation goals, but Jake Allen kept the Devils in it, too.

The goals came from the defense. Both Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes broke through Woll, both eliminating one-goal deficits. The Devils didn't have a lead until the end.

With the game tied going into overtime, the Devils needed this one. The Flyers were coming off a really bad performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Devils were dominant, as we said. Coming out with one point would have been fine, but it would have felt like a missed opportunity. 

Jack Hughes comes to the rescue of the New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes came into overtime with more than 23 minutes played already. Sheldon Keefe was leaning on his superstar, and he responded. 

Hughes had a great overtime period, which ended as we all expected it to. He scored another overtime goal. This wasn’t the Golden Goal, but it felt just as fun as a Devils fan. 

If the goal itself wasn’t enough, Hughes had to throw it back to one of his most iconic moments. 

Of course, this is throwing it back to 2021, when Hughes scored the overtime game-winner against the Chicago Blackhawks. He threw his stick into the crowd in their first season with a full crowd. The fans were absolutely incensed. It was an incredible moment, and it was one that was repeated by many across the league since.

One of the players who had done it is Trevor Zegras, who was on Hughes’s opponent on Thursday night. We have to think there was a little bit of cheekiness with that move, going back to the original stick toss that made it famous. 

The Devils won their first game of the season. That is the most important result from Thursday night, but the process is important as well. Getting the Devils team we thought we were getting that dominated on both sides of the ice is more sustainable than anything. Luke Evangelista looked good. Anthony Mantha played his role perfectly. Evan Rodrigues had a few really good moments, and we saw a few spurts from Lombardi in his NHL debut.

The vibes are immaculate, and we hope they stay that way all season.

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